Longer life and ease of maintaining hardwood and other hard-surface flooring in high traffic areas has become increasingly popular with consumers. Although genuine wood flooring can be expensive, caring for it doesn’t have to be. Restoring hardwood floors is a good option that is much less expensive than sanding and refinishing. A professional hardwood floor cleaning not only restores the glow to wood floors, but it removes dirt, debris, grease, hair, soil, dust and built-up residue trapped in the wood as well as removing residue and contaminants left behind from other cleaning products.

ServiceMaster has been cleaning carpets in North America since the 1930s and has extensive experience with all types of home cleaning services. To get more information on carpet cleaning go to our Carpet Cleaning Services page. Through our WoodGlo™ system, ServiceMaster has found a way to bring the kind of deep cleaning associated with carpets to hardwood floors. The ServiceMaster WoodGlo™ System offers two levels of cleaning and protection to hardwood floors. Both services start with a deep cleaning that uses a special machine to spray cleaning solution onto the floor that is quickly pulled up from the wood, bringing any ground-in dirt with it.

·         Our WoodGlo Level 1 service applies cleaning solution to the floors that is quickly removed and picks up dirt from the small cracks and grooves of hardwood floors.  This process may not completely remove any stains, discolorations, or scratches, but it will improve blemishes from those scratches, cracks, and grooves. We then apply a light sheen to bring out the natural glow of the hardwood floor.

·         In our WoodGlo Level 2 service, we do the same deep cleaning of the hardwood floor to remove dirt from the surface and from cracks and grooves in the wood. This is followed by an application of a more durable finish to the hardwood. This additional finish offers more protection to your wood floors from damage caused by things like pet nails, high-heeled shoes, children’s toys and spills. The added protection from stains, discolorations and scratches means regularly scheduled cleanings will extend the life of your floors.

Ground-in dirt often impacts the sheen of the floor and can even cause permanent damage to hardwood floors. After the deep cleaning, ServiceMaster can either restore a light sheen to the floor (level 1 service) or a sturdier finish that will protect the floor and add a glossy sheen (level 2 service).

People with hardwood floors should understand that regular sweeping and dusting is important but wood floors, like carpet, also can greatly benefit from regular intensive cleaning. This will extend the life of your hardwood floors before they need sanding and refinishing or worse, replacing. ServiceMaster’s WoodGlo™ System helps extend the life of floors by removing light scratches and the ground-in dirt that can cause damage to your hardwood floors.

So how do you know which level of hardwood floor cleaning you need? Both WoodGlo options safely yet aggressively remove dirt, debris, grease, hair, soil, dust, built-up residue, and contaminants that are left behind by other cleaning products trapped in hardwood floors. The right solution for you depends on the level of protection you desire for your hardwood floors. Level 1 provides basic professional cleaning while Level 2 offers a more intensive cleaning process with a glossier sheen and longer lasting protection.

Because wood floors are a natural surface, we’ll need to visit your home in person to be able to make recommendations on which service we provide is best to use on your wood floors. ServiceMaster Clean’s hardwood floor cleaning service works only if your wood floors are not yet worn to a point where they need to be sanded and refinished so do not wait until they look damaged to schedule this assessment. At the start of your hardwood floor cleaning appointment, a ServiceMaster technician assesses the condition of your floors and the current finish on the floors. After evaluating the condition of the floors, the technician will review his findings with you. This assessment allows us to determine the best next steps for you, and if you’re ready to proceed with the hardwood floor cleaning, we perform the service right away. If not, you can schedule a better time to perform the cleaning with our office staff who will keep your evaluation results on file for future cleaning appointments.

To prepare for your hardwood floor cleaning, please move small pieces of furniture like chairs, magazine racks, rugs and tables that are small enough to move. Remove breakables from the tops of the larger furniture that needs to be put on blocks during your cleaning. Pick up all items from the floor. Don’t forget to check for plants, toys, pet beds and loose personal items (shoes, purses, etc). Vacuum or dust mop all debris on hardwood floors prior to your cleaning. Special Note:  We DO NOT move heavy items such as pianos, sofas, entertainment centers, china cabinets, or any other large furniture.  We recommend that you have any such items moved prior to the scheduled date of service. You will also need to have such items replaced after the scheduled date of service, but be sure to allow 24 hours drying time before having this performed.

During the ServiceMaster hardwood floor cleaning, the technician performs the following steps. He performs an inspection of your hardwood floors looking for scratches, discolorations, cracks, etc. After this inspection, he reviews with you the cleaning process for your hardwood type and condition. Once you approve the recommended process, the technician scrubs your hardwood floors with the automatic wood floor scrubber and proprietary cleaning solutions. If ServiceMaster Clean recommends WoodGlo Level 1, we apply a coating using WoodGlo Renewer to reseal your floors. If we recommend WoodGlo Level 2, we apply a bonding coat then a thicker, more durable coating called StreetShoe to reseal your floors and provide superior protection. Finally, our technician re-inspects the hardwood floors with you to ensure you are satisfied. Typically the complete process should not take more than a few hours, depending on the size of the area to be cleaned.  It’s best to allow 24 hours for drying, to allow the wood floor to cure properly.

After the technician completes the hardwood floor cleaning, we recommend you do a few follow-up steps to maximize the benefit of your newly cleaned hardwood floors. Allow drying time of at least one to two hours before you walk on your hardwood floors in sock feet, and 24 hours before walking on your wood floors with anything else. Keep pets off the floor for 24 hours. Protect your hardwood floors from getting wet for 24 hours after application. Return furniture (with suggested use of felt pads), area rugs and any other decorations or accessories for that room to your hardwood floors after 24 hours. Waiting will allow time for the WoodGlo option you selected to dry completely and seal the floors protecting them from damage from dirt, scratches or spills.

Hardwood floors are beautiful, but keeping them this way is not maintenance-free despite what some people may think. The key to keeping them beautiful is to protect the hardwood floor’s finish. Protecting the finish is not extremely difficult.  You simply need to keep your hardwood floor as clean as possible. Lingering soil can act like sandpaper on your beautiful wood floor finish if the floor is not swept or vacuumed regularly. Dirt and soil can cause scratches in your hardwood floor’s finish which will dull the sheen of the floor. No matter what type of wood flooring you have, the best way to care for it daily is through sweeping, dry mopping with microfiber cloths or vacuuming with soft bristles. Some vacuums have a “non-carpet” setting that works well on bare, hard surface floors. Ideally do not use the vacuum if it only has stiff bristles since that can also scratch the finish on your wood floor. A few other tips for maintaining your hardwood floors between cleanings include:

·         Use doormats at all external doorways to trap sand and grit which can scratch the wood floor. Ground-in dirt is what makes hardwood floors look dirty and dull and creates small scratches in the finish.

·         Use area rugs and mats in high traffic areas, particularly in room entryways like the ends of stairways and doorways. Avoid using rugs that have rubber backs though because they do not allow enough air flow underneath.

·         Standing water can damage wood floors. Be sure to clean up spills immediately.

·         Use furniture protectors or stick-on felt pads under any furniture that is moved regularly, like dining room chairs. The feet on your furniture can damage hardwood flooring.

·         Do not wet mop your wood floor, and never use wax, oil soap or other household cleaners on your wood floor. They can dull your current hardwood finish and make refinishing more difficult.

·         Do not walk on wood floors in shoes with high heels, and keep your pets’ nails trimmed to prevent scratches to your hardwood floors.

·         Maintain a consistent humidity level in your home to avoid causing wood floors to swell, crack, shrink or create gaps.

·         Check for wear periodically, and do not wait until wood floors show extreme wear before you schedule a cleaning. Call ServiceMaster on a regular schedule to maintain your hardwood floors and avoid the expense of sanding and refinishing.

The frequency for getting your hardwood floors professionally cleaned depends on which WoodGlo option you choose.  To keep your floors in good condition, we recommend they be cleaned and refreshed every 6-12 months if choosing WoodGlo Level 1 and 3-5 years if choosing WoodGlo Level 2, depending on traffic and severity of damage.

If you think your hardwood floors need to be refinished, call ServiceMaster Clean and one of our trained professionals will come to your home to inspect your floors. He will recommend the best way to restore your floors. We offer an intensive cleaning process that doesn’t require sanding, and this process is a fraction of the price compared to getting your wood floors sanded and refinished.